KnowBe4 To Acquire AI-Powered Email Security Firm Egress

The planned acquisition of 17-year-old Egress will bring together AI-driven capabilities such as anti-phishing with KnowBe4’s widely used security training platform, according to the company.

KnowBe4 announced Wednesday it has reached an agreement to acquire Egress, a 17-year-old company focused on providing AI-powered email security.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Egress has 318 employees, according to a KnowBe4 spokesperson.

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The planned acquisition of Egress will bring together the vendor’s email security technologies, such as anti-phishing capabilities, with KnowBe4’s widely used security training platform, the company said.

The combination will allow KnowBe4 to offer “a single platform that aggregates threat intelligence dynamically,” providing customers with “email security and training that is automatically tailored relative to risk,” the vendor said in news release.

Egress’ focus on AI with its email security capabilities will help KnowBe4 to deliver “personalized AI-driven controls and real-time coaching,” KnowBe4 Founder and CEO Stu Sjouwerman said in the release.

KnowBe4 and Egress have had an integration for more than a year, Sjouwerman noted in the release.

Founded in 2007, London-based Egress has North America offices in New York, Boston and Toronto.

The company had most recently raised funding in late 2018 with a $40 million Series C growth equity round led by FTV Capital. Egress had reportedly raised at least $47 million in total, with other investors including AlbionVC.

The acquisition of Egress is expected to be complete “in the coming months,” KnowBe4 said.

Clearwater, Fla.-based KnowBe4 offers a popular platform for security awareness training and was formerly a publicly traded company, following its 2021 initial public offering. KnowBe4 was taken private in February 2023 in its acquisition by Vista Equity Partners.